Celtics open four-game road trip in Portland

Friday

The shorthanded Celtics play their final four games against Western Conference teams and will seek to improve on an 18-8 record.

BOSTON – Since they began playing 30 games a year against Western Conference teams in the 2004-05 season, the Celtics have recorded at least 20 wins just twice.

They went 25-5 during the 2007-08 championship season and followed that up by going 21-9 a year later.

With an 18-8 mark against teams from the other conference this season, the Celtics have a chance to reach 20 victories again.

They will have to split four games on a western trip that will last six days with stops in Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix and Utah in order to accomplish.

And they will have to do so while remaining shorthanded due to a rash of injuries.

The Celtics are 2-3 since Kyrie Irving exited at halftime against the Indiana Pacers with a sore left knee on March 11, and he wasn’t with the team for a flight to the West Coast Wednesday afternoon.

Irving isn’t expected to play on the trip as he seeks a second medical opinion, though Jaylen Brown continues to make strides after suffering a concussion on March 8.

So the Celtics will have to continue giving more minutes to Shane Larkin, Semi Ojeleye and Abdel Nader, with Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis gone after operations.

“I think the media feels more sorry for us than anybody,’’ said Marcus Morris. “We don’t feel sorry. We’re NBA players. Guys get paid in this league to continue to play. When somebody goes down, it’s the next guy up.’’

The Celtics (48-23) are closing in on clinching at least the No. 2 seed in the East, owning a 6-1/2 game lead over the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers prior to Wednesday night.

There are 11 games to go in the regular season with just four of them at the TD Garden. The second and final western swing of the season will be a challenge because of the lack of bodies.

“We know it’s not going to be easy,’’ said Terry Rozier. “But we’re a tough team no matter who we’ve got. Since a lot of guys went down, there’s no excuses.

“The teams we’re playing against aren’t going to care who we’ve got on our team. We haven’t got time for excuses. We have to go out there and go to work.’’

They will need continued strong play from 20-year-old rookie Jayson Tatum, who on Tuesday became the youngest player in franchise history to get at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game. Antonie Walker had been the youngest prior to Tatum’s performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Celtics will be going against two teams in the playoff picture and two others bound for the lottery in May.

First up is a game against the Trail Blazers, who had their 13-game winning streak stopped on Tuesday night by the Houston Rockets.

The Blazers have taken over first place in the Northwest Division ahead of the Thunder.

After a night off, the Celtics play the two lottery teams, taking on the Sacramento Kings Sunday followed by a game against the Phoenix Suns the next night.

The Kings and the Suns (who are last in the NBA at 19-53) are a combined 44-102 this season.

The final stop is in Utah to play the surprising Jazz, who are eighth in the Western Conference despite losing Gordon Hayward to the Celtics via free agency.

This will be the Celtics’ second look at rookie Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 20 points and helping to fill the void left by Hayward.

Mitchell had 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds when the Jazz won in Boston on Dec. 15.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.

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